Displaying items by tag: US

US: Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) has appointed Thomas Brooks as its chief technology officer (CTO). He previously worked as BHS’ Director of Technology and Product Development. Brooks was recently named a Waste360 40 Under 40 award winner. He has served in management and new product development roles in the aerospace, biomedical, industrial and automotive industries, among others. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Tennessee Tech University in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on controls and fluid dynamics.

Ireland: CRH recorded a profit of US$406m in the first half of 2020, down from US$602m in the first half of 2019. Sales fell by 4.9% year-on-year to US$12.2bn from US$12.8bn. Price rises in many markets offset the general reduction in cement volumes caused by coronavirus lockdown, while volumes grew in Germany, the Benelux countries, Brazil and the US.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Albert Manifold said, “We took swift and comprehensive action in response to the Covid-19 crisis, and our ability to flex our cost base and deliver improved profitability, margins and cash generation in a rapidly evolving environment demonstrates the strength and resilience of our business. The outlook for the rest of the year and into 2021 remains uncertain and is dependent on an improving health situation across our markets.” Though the group provided no full-year guidance for 2020, it said, “The longer-term prospects for CRH remain positive, benefiting from significant financial strength and resilience together with a portfolio of high-quality assets in attractive markets.”

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos recorded a loss of US$94.0m in the first half of 2020, up by 99% year-on-year from US$47.2m in the first half of 2019. Sales fell by 8% to US$680m from US$739m. During the period Votorantim Cimentos and its subsidiary St Mary’s Cement increased the balance withdrawn from credit facilities by US$247m, in order to “strengthen liquidity as protection within the current crisis context due to the Covid-19 pandemic and to cope with the seasonality that recurrently affects North America.” The group says that it will reduce the value of its 2020 investments by 25% to US$545m from a planned US$726m, down by 6.3% year-on-year from US$581 in 2019.

US: Mexico-based Cemex supplied 15,000t of cement to the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, for the construction of a 3770m runway and taxiway by McCarthy Improvement Company. Replacing an existing runway, the new runway is the longest at Hartsfield-Jackson, the world’s busiest airport.

Cemex USA president Jaime Muguiro said, “Infrastructure in the US needs improvements and updates so that Americans can remain connected and get where they need to go quickly, safely and efficiently. At Cemex, we are proud to securely support essential infrastructure projects that help achieve those goals and provide products that will enhance the experiences of travellers for years to come.”

US: A container at the Jobe Materials concrete plant in El Paso, Texas exploded early on 9 August 2020, causing damage to communication wires at the plant. KVIA News has reported that there were no injuries, nor any damage to buildings, resulting from the explosion. Fire services are investigating the incident.

US: Dragon Products has been fined US$67,000 by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for exceeding air emissions regulations since 2013. Ammonia, carbon monoxide and particulate matter levels were all breeched, according to the Bangor Daily News newspaper. Other irregularities with standards were also noted, such as baghouse inlet temperature limits and clinker cooler opacity standards.

Colombia: Cementos Argos’ says its sales volumes in the first half of 2020 were affected by coronavirus-related lockdown measures in Colombia and some countries of Central America and the Caribbean. These markets have since recovered gradually as quarantine measures were eased. Its revenue fell by 4.6% year-on-year to US$1.14bn in the first half of 2020 from 1.20bn in the same period in 2019. Cement and ready-mixed concrete (RMC) sales volumes declined by 15% to 6.79Mt and 19.9% to 4.05Mm³ respectively. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 9.5% to US$200m.

“These results were driven mainly by the firm commitment of our employees in implementing the health and safety protocols and the saving initiatives contained within RESET (restart safe and healthy), together with the better-than-expected market dynamics particularly in the US and some of our markets in the Caribbean,” said Juan Esteban Calle, the group’s chief executive officer (CEO).

By region the group reported growing RMC sales and earnings, both on an adjusted basis, in the US in the second quarter of 2020. Cement volumes fell in the country, mainly due to lower cement sales volumes in the Northeast region, due to lockdown measures and reduced demand from the wholesale segment. In Colombia a complete national lockdown from the start of the second quarter reduced sales significantly. A mixed picture was presented in the Caribbean and Central America due to differences in government lockdown policy although overall sales and earnings were down.

Italy: Good performance in the US has helped Buzzi Unicem hold sales steady in the first half of 2020 despite falling sales volumes of cement, particularly in Italy and Eastern Europe, as the coronavirus pandemic spread. The group’s net sales remained stable at Euro1.52bn. Its cement sales volumes fell by 3.4% year-on-year to 13.4Mt from 13.9Mt in the same period in 2019. Concrete sales volumes decreased by 6.3% to 5.46Mm³ from 5.83Mm³. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 8.8% to Euro314m from Euro289m. The company said that the decline in sales volumes was counteracted by growing prices and lowered production costs.

In its outlook the group said, “The outlines of the pandemic, which in some countries has not yet reached the phase of controlled circulation, as well as the intensity of global recession and the demand for building materials may be characterized by further sudden developments in the coming months. Visibility for the second half of the year continues to be very limited and our forecasts are based on a scenario of gradual mitigation of the infections and related restrictions on economic activity, in the geographical areas where the group operates.” It added that it expected its recurring EBTIDA to possibly fall by 5 – 10% year-on-year in 2020.

France: Falls in sales in India, France and Italy since the end of the first quarter of 2020 have negatively affected Vicat’s half year results. However, it noted a rebound at the end of the period, particularly in France, and reported earnings growth in the US and Brazil. Its consolidated sales fell by 2.7% year-on-year to Euro1.30bn in the first half of 2020 from Euro1.34bn in the same period in 2019. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased by 6.7% to Euro213mm.

“We kept our production activities running at almost all our sites to keep pace with market trends and seize any commercial opportunities by remaining close to our customers, which has helped to mitigate the impact of the crisis,” said Guy Sidos, the group’s chairman and chief executive officer (CEO). He added that, “In this unprecedented environment, visibility on our full-year performance remains limited.”

US: Eagle Materials says it has sold over 2Mt of cement in a single quarter for the first time in its history. Sales volumes rose by 35% to 2.09Mt in the first quarter of its financial year to 30 June 2020 from 1.6Mt in the same period in 2019. Sales revenue from its Heavy Materials division grew by 35% to US$274m from US$203m.

“While we are very pleased with our first-quarter performance, we recognise a high level of uncertainty persists in our markets and the overall economy: despite the decline in jobless claims from the March peak, total unemployment remains historically high; state and local governments face ongoing revenue pressure, which could have the potential to constrain infrastructure budgets; and, in some geographic areas important to our business, Covid-19 case numbers continue to escalate,” said Michael Haack, president and chief executive officer (CEO).

The group announced plans in May 2019 to split its Heavy Materials and Light Materials divisions into two independent businesses. However, it says the timing remains ‘uncertain.’